Ann Bruce

Assessing end-use relevance of public sector research organisations

Abstract Measuring the effective impact of research and its relevance to society is a difficult undertaking but one that the public sector is keen to embrace. Identifying end-users of research and capturing their views of research relevance are challenging tasks and not something that has been extensively reported. The evaluation of end-use relevance demands a shift in organisational mindset and performance indicators away from readily quantifiable outputs towards a consideration of more qualitative end-user outcomes that are less amenable to measurement, requiring both a greater tolerance of ambiguity and a willingness to learn from the evaluation process.

Generation Scotland: consulting publics and specialists at an early stage in a genetic database's development

A preliminary consultation about Scotlands first family-based, population DNA database (Generation Scotland) involved 10 focus groups with diverse publics and a series of 17 interviews with key stakeholders in various locations in Scotland throughout 2003/2004. Unlike similar consultations on genetic databases, this took place at the concept phase of the proposed genetic research. We report on the specific concerns that arose around participation, access, use, feedback and public consultation. Broadly, we find differences between specialists and focus groups are mostly of degree and not of kind, although the specialists were more confident in some areas (e.g. governance). Given the salient and recurring nature of these issues when compared with the UK Biobank consultations, for example, we suggest that the efforts to consult have not been matched with equal effort on policy or institutional response. So, following from this, we offer compelling reasons for introducing more robust legislation and regulation.

Dolly for dinner? Assessing commercial and regulatory trends in cloned livestock

As cloning technologies become more widely established, will products enter the food chain sooner than regulatory agencies and the public might be prepared for?

Critical role of animal science research in food security and sustainability

Many of the readers of Food Security may find themselves being critical of animal science in the context of food security and sustainability, rather than trying to see what animal science research can contribute to this area of study. After all, food animals are implicated in rain forest destruction, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (methane emissions in particular have been emphasised). Also, it is argued that land used to produce feed for animals could be used to produce food for humans instead, and that excessive consumption of animal products is harmful to human health. The emphasis in sustainability debates has therefore tended to be on advocating reduced meat consumption (and more rarely, reduced consumption of dairy products). Why then should readers of Food Security be interested in this book? Many will argue that food animals have an important role in food security, although it is not the place of this review to make those arguments. Suffice to mention that key arguments advanced include the ability of animals to convert grass and waste products not usable by humans into valuable sources of protein, the role of grazing animals in maintaining biodiversity, the role of manure in maintaining soils and the ability of food animals to sustain rural livelihoods in marginal areas. Whatever the case, the premise of this book is the often quoted statistic that global demand for animal products is predicted to almost double by 2050. This book is one of a series of expert reports produced by the USNational Research Council, and their website indicates that one of its intentions is informing government policies. It is a result of the deliberations of an ad hoc Committee of ten specialists, including animal scientists but also specialists in nutrition, human-environment relationships, human and veterinary medicine and aquaculture, plus representation from industry. This group was tasked with evaluating animal agriculture research needs in order to meet future global demand for animal products, in the face of climate change and limited natural resources. Examining these underlying assumptions was explicitly excluded from the remit. The book covers a huge range of subjects, including breeding and genetics, nutrition, and animal health and welfare, as well as emphasising socioeconomic considerations and integration of research areas. It is refreshing to see aquaculture included, as this is often left out of such discussions. A particularly interesting aspect of the coverage is the Committee’s reflections on the need for trained human capital and infrastructure. Some of the recommendations relate to production orientation, for example understanding animal nutrient metabolism. Others are more systems oriented, for example identifying alternative animal feed ingredients from human food waste, biofuels and industrial production processes. Animal welfare research and identifying alternatives to the use of antibiotics are also mentioned. Research related to climate change includes both adaptation to the effects of climate change and a better understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture. The book doesn’t shy away from considering some of the more controversial aspects of animal agriculture, such as genetic modification, the use of growth-promoting feed additives such as beta-agonists, and irradiating meat to kill potential pathogens. But in a book of this kind, none of these issues can be covered in depth. As well as identifying the research needs of the United States, global needs are also given a chapter, with an emphasis * Ann Bruce ann.bruce@ed.ac.uk

Not “human” enough to be human but not “animal” enough to be animal – the case of the HFEA, cybrids and xenotransplantation in the UK

Innovations in scientific and medical technologies, such as xenotransplantation and admixed embryos, invariably become the target of regulatory agencies and often demand new regulatory frameworks. In making decisions associated with these innovations, it is sometimes necessary for regulators to adopt certain positions about the status and significance of the human–animal embryo or body. In the UK, the regulatory and advisory bodies involved in the sphere of human/non-human transfer and exchange of material are: (1) the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA); (2) the (defunct) UK Xenotransplantation Interm Regulatory Authority; and (3) the Home Offices Animal Procedures Committee (APC). In this article, we critically examine the reasons for the HFEAs involvement in regulating and advising in research which uses admixed embryos, given that the HFEAs remit is the governments fertility watchdog regulating in the area of human embryos. This expansion, we argue, was partly due to pressure from pro-cybrid supporters and the need to fill an institutional void left by the decommissioning of UKXIRA. Ironically, specific institutions such as UKXIRA may have been better placed to deal with animal–human fusions.

Novel GM animal technologies and their governance

Scientific advances in methods of producing genetically modified (GM) animals continue, yet few such animals have reached commercial production. Existing regulations designed for early techniques of genetic modification pose formidable barriers to commercial applications. Radically improved techniques for producing GM animals invite a re-examination of current regulatory regimes. We critically examine current GM animal regulations, with a particular focus on the European Union, through a framework that recognises the importance of interactions among regulatory regimes, innovation outcomes and industry sectors. The current focus on the regulation of risk is necessary but is unable to discriminate among applications and tends to close down broad areas of application rather than facilitate innovation and positive industry interactions. Furthermore, the fields of innovative animal biosciences appear to lack networks of organisations with co-ordinated future oriented actions. Such networks could drive coherent programmes of innovation towards particular visions and contribute actively to the development of regulatory systems for GM animals. The analysis presented makes the case for regulatory consideration of each animal bioscience related innovation on the basis of the nature of the product itself and not the process by which it was developed.

Genome edited animals: Learning from GM crops?

Genome editing of livestock is poised to become commercial reality, yet questions remain as to appropriate regulation, potential impact on the industry sector and public acceptability of products. This paper looks at how genome editing of livestock has attempted to learn some of the lessons from commercialisation of GM crops, and takes a systemic approach to explore some of the complexity and ambiguity in incorporating genome edited animals in a food production system. Current applications of genome editing are considered, viewed from the perspective of past technological applications. The question of what is genome editing, and can it be considered natural is examined. The implications of regulation on development of different sectors of livestock production systems are studied, with a particular focus on the veterinary sector. From an EU perspective, regulation of genome edited animals, although not necessarily the same as for GM crops, is advocated from a number of different perspectives. This paper aims to open up new avenues of research on genome edited animals, extending from the current primary focus on science and regulation, to engage with a wider-range of food system actors.

Fewer burps in your burgers or more birds in the bush

Methane emissions from cattle and sheep have gained increasing profile in the context of climate change. As well as reduced consumption of meat and dairy products, a range of different technical solutions have been suggested as providing ways of reducing these emissions. These solutions include use of genetic selection, changing varieties of grass, use of feed additives, or use of vaccines to change rumen bacterial composition. However, beef and sheep farming in the UK is focused on upland areas where preservation of biodiversity is important and where many farmers have developed direct customer bases by selling ‘naturally’ produced meat. Many of the technical solutions offered appear to contradict these biodiversity and ‘natural product’ drivers and support more intensive production systems. At the same time increasing concerns about food security provide another driver to farming practice. The ethical question then is, how do you balance these often contradictory requirements? This paper will use data based on interviews with 42 UK beef and sheep farmers and industry representatives to tease out their views on these questions. I will demonstrate that the threat of methane production and its impact on the climate is not seen as credible by beef and sheep farmers; methane from grass-fed animals is not viewed as a pollutant. Furthermore, many of the technical mitigation methods offered lack appeal in hill production systems because of their perceived negative impacts on other desirable outcomes. More intensive beef production systems are, however, amenable to these techniques. A number of difficult ethical trade-offs are raised when considering how best to address methane emissions from sheep and beef cattle.

Inside out: knowledge brokering by short-term policy placements

The evidence-policy interface is important for delivery of sustainable development policy. We examine one specific form of knowledge brokering, the temporary placement of academic research scientists in UK policy arenas. We argue that successful knowledge brokerage depends on establishing social processes critical to effective knowledge exchange. Merely facilitating proximity of academic and policy actors is insufficient. Cultural understandings are key conditions for knowledge brokerage in this context. Academics who are outsiders to the policy process need to become credible insiders in order to be effective in bringing an outsiders perspective into play.

Derek Byerlee, Walter P. Falcon and Rosamond L. Naylor: the tropical oil crop revolution: food, feed, fuel and forests

Oilseeds are among the most rapidly expanding of all agricultural crops, and a recent report on global diets by CIAT (Centre for Research on Tropical Agriculture) confirms that they have become globally dominant contributors to calorific intake. Moreover, oil crops are also critical for feeding livestock and for the production of biofuels. This book, therefore, covers a most important topic for those interested in food security in its widest sense, and it does so from an interdisciplinary perspective. What comes to your mind, I wonder, when you think about tropical oil crops? The images that came to my northern hemisphere mind were of oil palm and such issues as tropical forest destruction, the extinction of Orangutans and loss of land rights of indigenous populations. While not avoiding such important matters, the book sets out a much more nuanced picture and ends on a modestly optimistic note. It focuses on two main crops, oil palm and soybeans, and examines them in a tropical context. The authors are distinguished specialists whose expertise embraces agribusiness, land use change and deforestation, land governance, food policy, and economics of global food systems. As might be expected from such perspectives, the chapters taken together provide a holistic view of tropical oil crop production, rather than simply focusing on biological and agricultural aspects. Importance is given to issues in developing oil crop production, such as the role of policy (especially in controlling access to land and land titles) and infrastructure (in particular, the way in which roads and ports are making land accessible to cultivation and international trade). Reading this book I imagined squeezing a palm fruit so that oil oozed out. In a similar way I imagine now that if I squeeze the book itself, statistics will ooze out, for it is extremely rich in such detail, on a myriad different subjects, and is thus an invaluable information resource. As a newcomer to tropical oil crop studies, I found a wealth of information that gave me new perspectives on the subject, helping me to understand why the sector has developed as it has. As an example, the requirement for fresh palm fruits to be processed within 24 h of harvesting, leading to advantages for processing close to where they are grown, and the statistics that suggest that a profitable palm oil mill will need 10,000 ha of oil palm to supply it, gave me a picture of the vast areas needed for oil palm plantations. A number of fascinating case studies from South America, Africa and SE Asia illustrate the complexity of tropical oil crop production, and the importance of taking into account the special circumstances of an individual country, rather than assuming that the production of a single crop is the same wherever it is cultivated. A whole chapter dedicated to palm oil includes case studies from Malaysia, Indonesia, West Africa (Cameroon and Ghana) and Colombia, each with its particular history and context. A chapter on soybean provides case studies from Brazil, India and southern Africa. I learned, in reading the book, that oil palm started as an African crop, produced purely by small-holders, and the key role that one company, Lever Brothers (now Unilever), has played in its development. I learned that in Malaysia, palm oil plantations were introduced as an alternative to the declining rubber plantations and that replacing one plantation with another meant that there was little concern about novel social and environmental impacts. Indeed the authors argue that oil palm production has contributed considerably to poverty 1 http://ciat.cgiar.org/the-changing-global-diet/ accessed 27th April 2017